small town usa...

since i'm going back to school in september for 12 straight months, and then hopefully getting a job right after grad, my mom wanted to take me on one last hurrah before i started. she wanted to stay close and decided on the little town of lewiston, new york, just across the border and right across from niagara on the lake. we stayed in a beautiful place, barton hill hotel and spa, where the rooms were huge (albeit freezing), it was situated right across from the niagara river, and within a 15 minute drive to a big mall we always go to and to the outlets. 

it's a sleepy little town, that place. after staying 2 nights, on checkout day, we roamed around the town. most stores were closed and they were mostly the kitschy gift shop type things. i think it took us a whopping half hour to walk up and down the one street that encompassed all the shops, and that included going in a few! that isn't to say our trip wasn't a success. between the mall and the outlet, i made out pretty well. i'm still a wee bit spoiled and my mom bought everything i got on the trip, lucky me. i scored a whack of workout clothes (i love marshalls for that stuff, especially the brand '90 degree'. i was able to get yoga pants, regular $98, for $16.99, shorts regular $58, for $12.99 and a few tops at ridiculous prices, too), a faux leather jacket (thank you forever 21 for the $15 price tag!), fall boots, a dress for the church part of an upcoming wedding (another marshalls score at $16.99), and a few other things. thanks america! and mom, of course.

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i would love a king sized bed, thanks. a queen just feels too small.

the niagara river, with canada on the other side.

an $80 dinner voucher was thrown in with our 2 night stay.

the food was ahhhh-mazing.

the 2nd floor tented area is where, weather permitting, you eat breakfast and dinner.

skyping with dyl :)

the second day, where we visited old fort niagara.

the french castle. toronto sits on the right of the castle across the water.

can we just talk for a second about how COLD it was on this trip. it literally felt like a cold, fall day. not august. the weather network lied and i didn't pack accordingly.

looking at toronto across the way!

frozen.

the third and final day wandering the town.

it was pretty, i'll give it that.

cold. again.

the town itself isn't enough to bring us back, but if you're looking for a shopping trip, it's a great place to stay with easy access to surrounding areas.

shopping and CAKE

yesterday's trip to the U S of A was semi-successful. i mean, it was a good day with mom, but shopping wise, we didn't get anything too exciting. first of all, i called the border hotline about 15 minutes before we were going to get there, and they said it was minimal to no wait at the bridge we were going to-great! we get there and the line up was unreal..50 minutes people!!! that's not minimal....
we got to the outlet mall first and took a spin around, but really found nothing. oh wait, i did find a grey sweater with a big bow on it that i can't wait to wear once it cools down (please hurry up with that!) from saks fifth avenue off 5th. i looked in tonnes of stores for a watch, but again, found nothing.

crappy camera phone picture..

up next was walden galleria mall. we took a spin around macy's but then went to cheesecake factory (!!) for lunch first. it was delicious of course, but we've never had room for dessert when we've gone before so we made the executive decision to come back for dessert later after more shopping.
after shopping around for a few hours, i got a black v neck sweater from forever 21 for a whole $9 and i got finally found a watch i liked from macy's.

my parents just took my camera to go out for the day, so another camera phone picture...

came to a total of $60.08 with tax (and it's $150 on the site)..pretty good deal for a betsey watch, actually for any watch really! it's exactly what i've been looking for but haven't been able to find.
a couple hours later, we were ready for coffee and dessert at cheesecake factory once again. as soon as i saw the red velvet cheesecake on the back of the menu at lunch, i knew i was sold. so we got some latte's and split a piece of the cake.

this right here, was the best thing i have ever put in my mouth (via). holy crap. cake, cheesecake, cake, and cream cheese icing. i seriously don't even have words. to.die.for. we were both beyond stuffed, felt like throwing up, but we still ate it. i think i was about to lick the plate, but it was the dinner time rush and i don't think that would have been very appropriate, ya know? i wish i got a whole cake to go .. A+++++++ i could go on, but i won't bore you. i've had a lot of red velvet cakes and cupcake, and this was one of the best. well done cheesecake factory, well done.

lastly, it was target. no luck on finding any cool treats that aren't available in canada. but i got my school supplies, which consisted of 3 notebooks. that was easy. and my dad wanted some beans and tomato paste haha oh, and i got my red velvet cake mix!! can't wait to try it and fool people ;) but i think i will probably stick to homemade for this kind of cake...
anyway, that was our trip in a (not so) nutshell. going back across the canadian border was a breeze, maybe 5 minutes. there you have it, my few purchases and my raving of cake!